The Hunters League
by The Real Enigma
Summary: Pre-Harry Potter, slighty AU. During Voldemorts reign of terror the Ministry created the Hunters. A group of witches and wizards tasked with hunting down and killing the Death Eaters and Voldemort. This is a prequel story to my future stories which will re-tell books 5,6, and 7 the way I imagined them going.


The Hunters: A Harry Potter Prequel

By: Christopher Stacey

Disclaimer: Harry Potter and all its affiliated characters are the Property of J.K. Rowling. This story is for entertainment purposes only and no infringement is meant.

Briton March 17, 1976, the Ministry of Magic.

The mood in the room couldn't have been any more somber though and an elderly man with long silver hair and a crooked nose, half-moon spectacles and long flowing blue and gold robes.

The elderly man's name was Albus Dumbledor.

Albus Dumbledor was sitting at a long rectangular table which was engraved at the middle with the symbol of the Ministry of Magic.

His posture although relaxed betrayed how keenly aware he was of how apprehensive everyone in the room was.

This, he felt, was perfectly understandable.

After all it wasn't every day that an important decision such as the one they were to be voting on came up.

To Dumbledors left sat the head of the Auror's office, the head of the Obliviators office, the Minister of Magic Rodric Isaacs, behind whom sat his undersecretary on the other side of which sat Brian Barkitt the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and next to him sat the head of the Muggle Relations Office.

Rodric Isaacs was a middle aged man with a slightly thin face and greying black hair. For this important meeting he wore purple robes with gold and red lace which at another time and place would have given the impression that he was royalty.

Currently he was looking over a piece of parchment that was laid out before him.

Though he'd had read through it already, he'd continued to re-read it.

It was pointless by now, Minister Isaacs had read through it enough times that he knew it almost by heart.

And still he was going through it again.

It said in long curvy handwriting.

"Proposal for the creation of the Office of Special Activities."

Both the Ministry of Magic and the Magical world are currently facing a crisis. The cause of the crisis has been the emergence of a violent and dangerous origination of Dark Wizards known collectively as Death eaters and lead by the Dark Lord, Voldemort a.k.a. you know who.

The rise of which has been responsible for the destabilization of the Magical community within England and the deaths of numerous witches wizards and numerous None-Magical Folk. Despite the most valiant of efforts of the Ministry and the Aurors Office there has been little progress made in dismantling this dire threat. The Death Eaters continue to kill, coheres and blackmail with virtual impunity. If anything this crisis is only going to intensify as currently neither the Aurors nor the Ministry have the means to at present to counter the Death Eaters effectively.

The answer therefor to this problem will be the creation of a new group of specially trained individuals, tasked with hunting down and killing, those who now threaten the stability and safety of the Magical world.

It is purposed for obvious reasons that these individuals be called 'Hunters League'. It is further purposed that the group be made independent of the Ministry of Magic.

The reasons for which are simple to allow the hunters to operate freely and carry out their primary mission of destroying the Death Eaters without the bureaucratic interference of the Ministry and to protect against the potential for misuse. Furthermore this move will help to protect against the infiltration of the Hunters by Voldemort supporters to include Death Eaters or those acting as Death Eater sympathizers..

It is finally purposed that the Hunters be Headquartered in a location of their choosing to help defend against hostile attacks.

All this with full support from the Ministry of Magic and select none-magic agencies.

Respectfully, George A. Spunner.

George A. Spunner just happened to be standing before the assembled wizards.

He was not what one would call a handsome or winning sort.

He was only about average height but with a muscular brick build with short brown hair and a short beard with no mustache.

The skin of his face had patches that looked as though someone had split hot chocolate on it and was cratered and scared from a bad bout of achene.

The only truly noticeable thing was his eyes which were a light shade of gray and filled with confidence and what one might call a sly intelligence.

Minister of Magic Rodric Isaacs looked up at Mr. Spunner who was showing no hint of anxiousness or worry at the apparent lack of enthusiasm his proposal had thus received.

In fact Mr. Spunner had been expecting this very thing, even before he'd brought his proposal to the ministry for they're consideration. He'd expected this even before he'd started writing up his proposal; the Ministry like all beurikrates resisted change until it would be resisted no longer. They hated anything that was new and different, especially _when they didn't get to control it._

Mr. Spunner had not provided copies of his proposal to the other officials who were in attendance, instead he had presented his proposal to them verbally and had presented the minister of magic a copy with which to review ahead of this briefing. This he had done so as to prevent the other heads of department from having enough time to formulate they're own plans for how they were going to scuttle his proposal.

As long as he didn't give them enough time to fully delve into proposal they wouldn't have the chance to waste time arguing.

Minister Isaacs was not a happy man right now, true just about anybody would be unhappy if they were in his position right now. He was the Minister of Magic for Great Britton, the most powerful man (at least in theory) in this part of the Wizarding world and yet….well there was no getting around the fact that that the current state of affairs in the Magical world were….bleak.

Last month alone there had been over 20 attacks made buy the Death Eaters, eight of them had been against ministry employees, four against the families of Aurors and the rest had been aimed at Muggles and or Muggle Borns.

Muggle hunting seemed to be rapidly becoming the new sport of Dark Wizards. The attacks had left the ministry working day and night trying to clean up the mess and yet more attacks were being reported every day.

The Magical community was demanding action from the Ministry, there were even rumors floating around that more and more wizards wanted him sacked and someone else to take charge. None of that however meant he liked the proposal he'd been pouring over for the last few days, for these _Hunters_ Mr. Spunner was pushing.

First of all the Ministry already had a dedicated taskforce for arresting dangerous witches and wizards, the Aurors for one and Hit Wizards for another. True, they were not meeting with much success at the moment…or the past several years…but still! Asking for a new group of Wizards to hunt down and kill, yes kill Witches and Wizards?

Well…the most dangerous of the lot, the ones who were supporting, _You Know Who_, and on top of that asking that they be independent of the Ministry? That was just outrageous, ridiculous even.

And yet…not unrealistic, after all the department of Mysteries was "technically" independent of the Ministry.

Albus Dumbledor chose that moment to clear his throat, "Gentlemen!" he said looking down the table at the other offices officials and Minister who in turn turned their attention back to him.

"We have heard Mr. Spunners proposal he has explained the purpose and reasons for the creation of the _Hunters_. Therefore, before taking a vote what have you to say in regards to this proposal?

"I don't like it," said Brian Barkitt a barrel-chested middle-aged man with salt and pepper hair and a craggy face. "However I'm willing to support it on the condition it be brought under the direct supervision of my department."

"What for?" said Mr. Spunner a slight edge to his voice.

"So you can tie their hands while you muck about trying to prove you can do anything they can do only better? Scared they might succeed and doing your job better than you?"

"He got you there mate," said Quinten Sabins, a rotund man with receding hair and bushy mustache, Mr. Sabins was head of the obliviators office.

"Come over here and say that to my face", snarled the head of the Magical Law Enforcement office.

"That will do!" said Dumbledore, with such a tone of finality that both men did not continue, though they glared at one another.

After a moment's pause Isaacs addressed Mr. Spunner again, "while I am not saying I support this, I must agree with Barkitt; creating a group with the capabilities you have outlined and giving them no oversight inherently dangerous."

Spunner groaned internally, though he'd expected this and was prepared for it did not mean he wanted this fight. For the Hunters to work as he envisioned they couldn't have the ministry be in a position to interfere, obstruct or in any way hinder them, otherwise they might as well just use the Aurors.

"I am aware that there some risks involved, however it is imperative, key even, that the Hunters be able to operate without ministry interference.

I am not-"he continued seeing Mr. Isaacs about to argue again, "-implying that they will be a law unto themselves, merely that they will not be subject to the whims or control of Ministry officials."

"Perhaps-" said Dumbledor in a calm demeanor which seemed very out of place in the current time and place.

"-It would perhaps help allay the fears of the Ministry Mr. Spunner; if you were to explain in a bit more detail how you intend to do this."

"Certainly!" he replied, giving Dumbledor a curt nod.

He'd expected this to happen; asking the ministry to keep their grubby political hands off of his Hunters was like asking a dog to purr, it wasn't in its nature and it never would be. He had already formulated a plan and decided now was as good a time as any to set the next part into motion.

"The head of the Office of Special activities office be responsible for making regular correspondence with the Minister of Magic, informing him of important developments on an as needed basis. Furthermore any issue of claims of misconduct or law breaking by members of the Hunters will be addressed by the Head of the OSA (Office of Special Activities) in conjunction with the Minister of Magic, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and a hearing will be conducted between this individuals and the aggrieved party."

Spunner knew that the only way to sell this to the ministry and still allow the Hunters to remain independent was to play on their thirst for control so had neglected to mention in his written proposal that he'd planned to have the head of the Hunters be partially answerable to the Ministry so that he could pretend to make a concession that would satisfy the Ministries need for some level of control.

"Well Gentlemen, there you have it," said Dumbledore matter-of-factly, "Now unless there are any other questions I think it is time to vote."

Minister Issacs sighed, "Agreed!" said the Minister in a weary voice, "all those in favor?"

The only hand that didn't go up was Barkitt's who was clearly feeling mutinous about being denied total control of the new Department, he the Minister didn't like this idea much himself, and had raised his own hand only reluctantly.

The one good thing he could see was that at least he could hold the Hunters accountable if they…stepped out of line, or at least that was the offering Mr. Spunner had made and it was reasonable enough to stand on its own merits.

"Very well, the vote is unanimous" he sounded like he'd just been outbid at auction and with another great sigh looked Mr. Spunner straight in the eye.

"Your proposal Mr. Spunner has been approved. I assume it is your intenion to be the first head of this new office?"

Mr. Spunner nodded not showing even a trace of emotion which did nothing to improve the ministers mood.

"Then I expect to hear from you the moment this new office is up and running"

"Of course, Minister!"

The Minister rolled up his copy of the parchment memo he'd been given and handed it to his secretary with a look that told her he never wanted to see it again and stood up.

Everyone else stood up and there was a scraping of chairs as they each put their seats back in there proper place, no one exept Dumbledore bothered to so much as look in Mr. Spunners direction.

"Well it's done Albus!" said Mr. Spunner who wasn't smiling despite having accomplished what he had come here to do. Dumbledore walked over to talk to Mr. Spunner and extended his hand.

"Indeed it is George," replied Dumbledore as they shook hands, "though I cannot pretend that I am happy about it.""

"Tough times call for tough measures Albus" he replied tersely,

If you don't like it then why did you just vote in favor of it then? He wondered.

"Indeed! Just take care that tough measures do not become tyrannical measures. Better Wizards have had their good intentions lead to disaster before."

A small frown parted Mr. Spunners Lips.

"You don't trust me Albus?" he said a slight edge to his voice.

"Natually I do!" replied Dumbledore, "I merely meant that it is not wise to forget that power can easily corrupt even the best of us."

At this Mr. Spunners expression softened and he actually smiled for the first time that night, "Don't worry Albus….I'm well aware of my limits."

Dumbledore returned the smile with one of his own "Good to hear!" he replied.

"Now if you'll excuse me I must be off, I have to meet with someone who I think would make an excellent addition to your newly created department."

Mr Spunner raised an eyebrow at that, "Really…who? Anyone I know, perchance?"

Dumbledore shook his head, "No, no, just an old student of mine who I think you would find worth considering."

Mr. Spunner gave Dumbledor a look of surprise and he wondered who this old student was?

Whoever it was they must be something if Dumbledore thought he would be of help.

"Wonder who it could be?" he muttered to himself as he watched Dumbledore leave.

Number 24 Grisentown way was located in a rundown part of London, there were signs that the area hand't been properly maintained in years.

The streets were cracked and laden with potholes; obscene graffiti seemed to cover most of the walls of the brick buildings that lined the street.

Most of the garbage cans were overflowing and looked as though they too had been vandalized.

All in all it was not the kind of place most people would want to go especially at night.

Accept one; Albus Dumbledore appeared suddenly on the side walk next to a lamp that wasn't working. He looked around the neighborhood as though trying to spot something for a moment then reached into his pocket and took out a silver putouter.

He could never have imagined that in only four years an event would take place that would see him on an empty street in the middle of the night about to use the putouter.

He clicked the device several times, each time he used it the light from one of the lamps came hurtling towards him and into the silver device.

Once all of the few lamps had been putout Dumbledore returned the device to this pocket and set off down the dark street.

He stopped in front of a narrow two story building that read "105B" walked up to the front door and opened it.

The inside was hardly any more welcoming than the outside, the walls on either side were covered in chipped yellow paint, pieces of the drywall were missing, and the floor looked as though it hadn't been mopped in sometime.

None of this seemed to bother Dumbledore who hummed as he made his way down the wall and to a rusted staircase which wound around and up to the second floor.

The second floor hall looked only marginally better than the first, still Dumbledore made his way down the hall until he reached a door that had no numbers on it.

Instead a large sign with a yellow background and bold black letters said, "keep out! Under construction"; despite this Dumbledore knocked three times and waited…suddenly the door opened, but not into a room that was being rebuilt but into another hallway. Seeing this Dumbledore entered the hallway as the door closed behind him.

Only a short distance from where he'd come in from was another door, a plain black one with no doorknob.

Dumbledore made his way to this door and stopped just a few inches in front of it. He paused for a moment or two before saying in a loud voice, "Thalomus!"

There was no answer, or maybe Dumbledore wasn't waiting for an answer maybe something else was supposed to happen, suddenly the sounds of locks one after another could be heard moving beyond the door, a moment later the door opened.

The room inside looked far too big to be able to fit in the small space which separated the others.

Inside were a few lamps which were attached to the walls, in one and of the room a series of hand weights were arranged on a rack in a neat order next to a workout bench and a punching bag. The inside of the room was the same dull yellow paint; accept there was no sign of damage.

Towards the middle wall was a large fireplace with a kettle and a pewter cauldron, a bed with dark blue sheets and matching cover was on the other side of the room along with several bookshelves, a cupboard full of various potion ingredients.

In the corner nearest the doorway was an old-fashioned stove with several cupboards of various food ingredients. In the middle of the room were several large chairs and in-between them a beautifully crafted coffee table.

In one of the chairs sat a man who was currently running a stone across an unfinished blade. He had jet black hair, very smooth fair skin, a small nose and thin lips. His jet black was long and stick straight and tied in a ponytail in back.

The left side of the man's face was covered in a large patch of hair which he'd obviously grown to cover it, his visible right eye was a deep purple and was currently focused on the task at hand.

He wasn't dressed in the way wizards normally dressed with long colored robes instead he wore a dark colored t-shirt with the picture of some sort of symbol on it, he wore faded blue jeans and black leather boots that came up to mid shin.

"Good evening Thalomus!" said Dumbledore in a soft tone of voice.

Thalomus looked up from the unfinished blade but didn't say anything; he gave Dumbledore a curt nod then returned to running the sharpening stone along the edge of the blade.

Dumbledore seemed to take the silent greeting as an invitation to sit down, because he did just that sitting in the chair opposite Thalomus who seemed not to have taken notice and instead continued rubbing the stone along the blades edge.

For a time the two sat in relative silence, the only sounds heard were the wood in the fireplace crackling and popping at odd moments and the sound of the sharpening stone being run along the metal edge of the unfinished sword in Thalomus's hand.

"Been keeping busy?" said Dumbledore breaking the silence at last. Thalomus gave a very halfhearted shrug of his left shoulder.

"Is that to be the sword you've told me about?"

A quick nod was the only answer he got as Thalomus paused to examine the swords edge. A thin line of silver metal could be seen on the very tip of the black colored metal.

To Thalomus it was a clear indication it still had ways to go but clearly on the right track. The sword was far from finished of course, the handle, pommel, guard and sheath still had to be shaped and crafted.

For that very tricky process he'd planned to employ the goblins as they were superb craftsmen, but they were proving difficult to persuade, the goblins wanted a considerable sum of gold, which he simply didn't have and hadn't shown a particular interest in his request when he'd made it.

Forging the blade had presented its own challenge as books on sword smiting were not exactly common in wizard libraries or book stores. The goblins could have made him one but they wouldn't have done it to his…unique specifications: The blade he was now sharpening had been bathed, that is to say submerged for some time in in unicorn blood mixed with his own blood and sealed with a powerful spell to ensure it would retain the magic properties it had absorbed.

The goblins would have had no qualms with killing a unicorn for its blood but the ministry, the High Elves, and the Forest Elves, just to name a few who would.

So he'd been forced to complete that task alone.

He also wanted a single Thesteral hair placed in the handle for an extra boots, as well as to allow it to be used as a sort of secondary wand, something else he would probably have to do on his own.

"So Thalomus, how have you been keeping?" asked Dumbledore in a cordial tone.

Thalomus grunted and gave a none committal jerk of the head before checking the blades edge again.

"You don't say!?" said Dumbledore with a small smile. "Well I'm glad to see your doing alright", he took a quick look around as though admiring the decor and then asked, "What made you choose this place to live?"

Thalomus shrugged.

"Yes I see," replied Dumbledore with slight twinkle in his eye.

Thalomus stopped what he was doing and looked part way up at Dumbledore, his visible eye was half-closed and his lips had turned downward slightly in a scowl.

Dumbledore continued to smile benignly as Thalomus returned to sharpening the blade.

"Well that's enough small talk, I really must be going back to Hogwarts soon."

Thalomus still said nothing, he simply ran his thumb along the side of the blade he'd been working on, checking its sharpness.

"However, before I go I wanted to let you know about a job opportunity I think you would be interested in considering". Dumbledore paused to watch Thalomus's reaction, he knew he was listening by the way he'd started examining the blades edge again.

Content that he had his attention Dumbledore continued on, "there has been a new department created at the Ministry."

Thalomus silently held up the edge of the blade to eyelevel to examine how fineness of the edge he'd been working on.

"It's called "The Office of Special Activites"

Thalomus snorted and his lip curled into a sneer, "What's that!" he asked in a very snide tone of voice, "a new branch of the ministry dedicated to the kissing asses and the giving of-"

Before he could finish however Dumbledore cut across him, "No! It is the cover name for a newly created organization dedicated to hunting down and killing the Death Eaters and Voldemort."

"It's…?"

"Dedicated to hunting down and killing the most dangerous of the Death Eaters and of course Voldemort, yes!"

"It's officially being called _The Hunters League_, also I would remind you to watch your language; I did not teach you to talk like _that!_"

Thalomus stopped what he was doing and put the blade down beside his chair, he then raised one leg and rested it across the other and brought his hand up to his chin, thinking about what he'd just heard.

"Albus, why are you telling me about all this?"

"Because, I believe the Hunters would benefit from having someone like you in their ranks Thalomus. You are loyal, fearless in the face of danger, have a certain disregard not to mention disdain for rules-" his eyes twinkled at this and a small smile made its way to his lips.

"Not to mention you are a genuinely good man, despite your.…forgive me, unwillingness to let others see it."

"I was in Slytherin" replied Thalomus in a monotone his eyes looking downward as though the fact ashamed him.

"We have, I believe, discussed this, have we not? And I have told you repeatedly that it is the choices we make and not who we are born as or who our…_parents_ were that defines who we are."

Thalomus however seemed to be looking for reasons why he was skeptical of Dumbledore's implying that he would make a good member of this Hunters League.

"I don't get on well with others" he added dryly, his eyes still downcast.

"That is by your choice Thalomus!" replied Dumbledore a slight note of irritation in his voice.

Thalomus made no reply, either because he couldn't think of one or because he felt it unwise to continue to argue with the man who could in a way be thought of as his Father. Though neither man was in any way related of course.

He suddenly stood up and walked to the fireplace which was in need of more wood. Wordlessly he added a few more logs to the dwindling fire.

Behind him Dumbledore watched him with a neutral expression on his face so that it was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Thalomus on the other hand was staring intensely at the fire, as though drawn to it by magic.

"Are you sure they would accept me, or what I am?"

Dumbledore nodded mutely which went unnoticed by Thalomus, "I cannot promise that they will trust you right off the bat, but I firmly believe that once you have proven yourself, they will not only trust you but accept you regardless of your pedigree."

Thalomus had a faint grin on his face; he thought "pedigree" was a rather clever way of calling him a half-breed.

Half-breed, heck he wasn't just a half-blood, meaning half muggle half wizard, he was also only half human. A fact that had lead him to the rest of the wizarding world distrust and hate him for, something he was only too glad to do for them in return.

Acceptations existed of course, Dumbledore for one not only trusted him but had even defended him in the past, when no one else would, securing his release from Azcaban when others would have left him to rot, taking him in, tutoring him.

No Dumbledore was probably the only person in this world he really trusted, really knew would always be there for him if he ever needed it. He hadn't in years and didn't plan to ever again but the knowledge that he would be there if he needed him was none the less comforting.

"How do I join this…Hunters League?" he asked in a neutral tone, not turning to look at Dumbledore.

Dumbledore was still watching Thalomus, his own face unreadable at the moment, "You should recive an owl in a few days giving you instructions on where to be and when." He said in an even tone of voice.

Finally Thalomus turned to look at his former teacher; there was still no hint of real emotion on his face as he folded his arms in front of his chest.

"If the opportunity presents itself, I'm not going to hesitate to kill Marvolo." He said in a somewhat icy tone of voice. "In fact I won't hesitate to kill any of them, and I can assure you I won't feel the least bit sorry about it".

"I don't expect you to," replied Dumbledore his voice surprisingly even, it was only his eyes that conveyed his true feelings, and it was disapproval and something that came across as a warning of some sort.

"I do expect however, for you to exercise self-control and not use this as an excuse or an opportunity to indulge in…questionable behavior!"

Thalomus's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly but he made no comment. He understood however what Dumbledore was implying, he was warning him not seek revenge on the Death Eaters or Marvolo.

It was a long moment before Dumbledore spoke though this time it was in his usual friendly tone of voice.

"Well, please excuse me Thalomus, but it's late and I really must return to Hogwarts you see." He stood up and straightened his robes slightly.

Thalomus did nothing more than give a faint nod of understanding but didn't make any effort to bid Dumbledore farewell. Instead he watched silently as the Headmaster opened the door which would lead him back to the vacant hallway of the apartment complex.

Dumbledore stopped in the doorway however and turned to look back at Thalomus, "please remember what I said Thalomus, and remember who you are!"

Whatever was meant by that was apparently lost on Thalomus who had one slightly raised eyebrow but didn't say anything in reply.

Dumbledore headed out of the doorway closing the door behind him and leaving Thalomus alone with his thoughts.

So the ministry was finally taking appropriate measures to deal with the Death Eaters, eh! Well it was about time. The thought brought a smile to his face.

Hunting and killing the Death eaters sounded a bit like some kind of twisted wizard sport; accept there was nothing recreational about what the ministry was readying to do. This was deadly serious; the Ministry was dead serious about dealing decisively with Marvolo and those arrogant drones who followed him like zombies, doing whatever he wished no matter how mad it was.

The smile on his face turned cold, almost cruel as he realized that here was a job he could really get into.

Oh yes! He thought to himself, here was a group dedicated to giving the Death Eaters back a taste of their own medicine. Not to mention the chance of being the _one,_ the one who got to end that damn bastard's life and make him suffer in the process.

To hell with all this _questionable behavior_ rubbish, he wasn't going to show that abomination or his followers any mercy.

And with that final thought Thalomus returned to what he'd been doing earlier: sharping a sword blade he'd enchanted and planned to use to skewer that snake on.

_End of Chapter_


End file.
